Tourniquet
by Siren6
Summary: --SONGFIC-- Takes place when Faith and Angelus are fighting. Mostly her thoughts.


Tourniquet By Siren  
  
Hey guys! This is a songfic, taking place when Angel bites Faith. I don't own any of the Buffy characters, or the song 'Tourniquet' by Evanescence. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
I tried to kill the pain  
  
But only brought more  
  
I lay dying  
  
Faith was exhausted. She was wounded, bleeding and broken. She could hear each drop of her blood as it hit the ground. She could feel her heart thudding strongly in her chest while her instincts screamed for her to get up. To run. To survive. But she couldn't. She was here for a purpose: to save Angel. He didn't give up on her, and she refused to give up on him.  
  
He was the reason she was alive at all. He had saved her from herself. From the darkness that tried to engulf her. Seeing the blood on her hands, she felt both pain and relief. The wounds throbbed terribly, but at least the blood was her own. There was a time when someone else's blood covered her hands, and she was the cause. She was dimly aware of Angelus taunting her, mocking her.  
  
He was calling her a murderer. An animal. She shook her head, pushing away the dizziness that entered her. "You're wrong," she choked out. But part of her knew he wasn't. Somewhere, deep down inside, the darkness lay in wait. No matter how long she fought to redeem herself, that darkness would always be there. That was why she needed Angel. She needed him, because he was the only one who understood. He knew what it was like to fight the darkness. And if she couldn't bring him back, than what hope was there for her?  
  
And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal  
  
I'm dying praying bleeding and screaming  
  
Am I too lost to be saved?  
  
Am I too lost?  
  
A swift kick to the stomach made stars dance in front of her eyes. But she had to stay conscious. She had to save Angel. Wesley had told her that to beat Angelus, she had to become just like him. An animal whose only purpose was to kill. Grasping the hilt of the knife that Wesley gave her, she shuddered. The weight of it felt so familiar.  
  
Standing up, she ignored any comment that Angelus made. She felt herself slipping back into the darkness that she had buried away. The evil that she once was.... Turning around, she slashed at the vampire, almost grinning when it struck his flesh. "That's my girl!" he said, grinning. She continued to slash at him wildly, losing herself in the darkness.  
  
She kept her eyes on his chest, never meeting his eyes. If she looked up into his eyes, she knew she'd lose her focus. She tried to push all memories of Angel away, focusing all of her energy on destroying the thing in front of her. The demon with Angel's face. He dodged her knife and quickly struck her in the face. She barely felt it. She had no time to deal with the pain of her wounds. She was fighting a demon whose darkness rivaled her own.  
  
My God my tourniquet  
  
Return to me salvation  
  
My God my tourniquet  
  
Return to me salvation  
  
Hearing him cry out in pain, she made the mistake of meeting his eyes. She expected to see nothing but pure untainted hatred. But she was shocked to see a hint of pride and understanding. Angel took advantage of her mistake, and knocked the knife from her grip. Now they fought hand to hand, their punches becoming nothing but blurs.  
  
Faith was winning the fight, and she knew it. But was she ready to take it all the way? Could she kill him? Angel picked up Wesley's shotgun, and fired it at her. The slayer dodged the bullets, rolling across the ground. Seeing the vampire take aim, she moved as fast as she could, falling down a flight of stairs. With the wind knocked out of her and her limbs screaming, she knew she couldn't dodge another shot.  
  
She looked up to see the barrel of the gun pointed at her head with her once savior behind it. "So, do you still want to die?" The question struck home. She hadn't thought about it for a while. Part of her would always crave death, but now... "No," she whispered. "What?" Faith grunted as a wave of pain washed over her. "No," she said louder. Angel grinned. "Still can't hear you." "No!" Faith shouted.  
  
Angel shrugged. "Too bad," he said, and pulled the trigger. Faith waited for the pain, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see that the gun was empty. Angel grinned. "You're going to die, but not this way," he said and tossed the gun away. The fighting began anew, and Faith found herself fighting not only for Angel, but also for her own existence.  
  
Do you remember me?  
  
Lost for so long  
  
Will you be on the other side  
  
Or will you forget me?  
  
Faith's muscles were straining as she fought. She knew she couldn't continue for much longer. He was too strong and too fast. 'Fight for Angel. Fight for your life!' she repeated in her mind over and over. Seeing that she was losing, Faith summoned more fury from her buried darkness. 'No one can take you! No one can beat you! FIGHT!'  
  
She let out a shout as she slammed her fists into him, losing herself completely. But even with her added strength, she couldn't beat him. He kicked her, and threw her away from him. "You and me Faith? We're a lot alike," Angelus said. Faith spit the blood from her mouth and shook her head. "I'm nothing like you," she growled. Angel shook his head. "But you will be," he promised.  
  
I'm dying praying bleeding and screaming  
  
Am I too lost to be saved?  
  
Am I too lost?  
  
Angelus looked at the struggling form lying in front of him. All slayers were exquisite, but Faith...she was something else entirely. She held a darkness that rivaled his own. Buffy may be powerful, but Faith was ruthless. Almost demonic, in a way. She struggled to stand up, and he couldn't help grinning. She was going down with a fight, huh?  
  
Kicking her in the stomach, she grunted in pain, and writhed. In a flash he was beside her, holding her shoulders. He could hear Faith taking harsh, shuddered breaths. 'Angel's little Faith. He thought he could change her, and in a way he did. But I know...no matter how long she atones for what she did, there will always be that darkness.'  
  
My wounds cry for the grave  
  
My soul cries for deliverance  
  
Will I be denied Christ?  
  
Tourniquet  
  
My suicide  
  
Faith knew what was happening, and she felt fear seize her heart. She was going to die. Angelus was going to kill her. 'Forgive me Angel. I tried to save you, but I failed.' With a growl, Angelus tore into her neck. Faith let out a small whimper as he began to drink from her.  
  
She felt her life slowly draining away, and all of her anger faded with it. Now she only felt exhaustion and remorse. She regretted everything she had ever done in life. Betraying Buffy, killing people, torturing Wesley...and now this. Her eyes rolling into the back of her head, she felt Angelus pull away. A small smile tugged at her lips. 'Than again, maybe there's hope for Angel yet...' Faith's body fell to the ground limply, her eyes closed.  
  
My God my tourniquet  
  
Return to me salvation  
  
My God my tourniquet  
  
Return to me salvation 


End file.
